Satin

[fluffysal]

Does anyone else have a satin? Boris is young so no signs of anything nasty. Is there anything I can do for him as a preventative? Myself and oh are not very experienced piggie slaves but we have patience, time and willingness to give any care needed for our boys.

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

@Eriathwen has experience and knowledge of satin piggies and their care. I don't think there's anything you can do to prevent the issues caused by satin syndrome, but hopefully there are things you can do to keep him comfortable if they do happen.

 

[Piggies&buns]

This guide explains more about the condition

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...gs-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/

 

[Eriathwen]

Unfortunately I have a fair bit of experience with satins, unfortunately there's nothing you can do as a preventative for the condition, but you can prevent suffering by speaking to your vet and requesting yearly/6 monthly xrays to keep track of bone density prior to the onset of symptoms and beginning suitable pain relief as soon as changes are spotted. Managing pain is far easier the earlier it's seen and by the time they show signs of pain they're already in considerable amounts of it, or struggling to eat due to the dental issues often created.
Mine have almost all began to show signs between the ages of 2 and 3 years old, but it does seem to depend on the severity of the condition.

 

[Wiebke]

Does anyone else have a satin? Boris is young so no signs of anything nasty. Is there anything I can do for him as a preventative? Myself and oh are not very experienced piggie slaves but we have patience, time and willingness to give any care needed for our boys.

Hi

There is nothing you can do as a preventative.

The syndrome is genetic and usually manifests around 18 months in the piggies that are affected by the acutely progressive form; earlier is rare and so is later. Thankfully, by not all satin piggies will develop the syndrome; you can usually take a huge breath by the second birthday if nothing has happened until then.

 

[fluffysal]

Boris says thank you

 

[Wiebke]

The first symptom of the active form is often the characteristic sideways way of sleeping with the feet in the air that takes the weight off the back legs and lower spine.

A bit like this one here (from a non-satin piggy):

 

[fluffysal]

That's a brilliant bit of information. If he starts doing that I probably would have just thought it was cute. Is it a sign of arthritis too? I just want my boys to have the best life possible and being able to get knowledge from experienced slaves is invaluable. I am very grateful for this forum. Also I love drooling over other peoples piggy pictures

 

[Wiebke]

That's a brilliant bit of information. If he starts doing that I probably would have just thought it was cute. Is it a sign of arthritis too? I just want my boys to have the best life possible and being able to get knowledge from experienced slaves is invaluable. I am very grateful for this forum. Also I love drooling over other peoples piggy pictures

No, arthritic piggies kind of hunker down depending on where the arthritis starts and progresses - often in the leg joints or lower spine at first; so you'd rather notice stiff back legs and loss of spring in their back legs as the first symptoms. It also tends to affect an very different age group. Arthritis in younger adults is thankfully very rare but even there the onset is usually that bit later than SGPS (satin syndrome). They are two different illnesses.